The present invention relates to a ski stick having a sprung ski stick handle for use, in particular, in cross-country skiing. The handle which is fixed to the upper end of a ski stick tube has a handle body which is movable on the ski stick tube against a spring means arranged between the ski stick handle body and the ski stick tube toward the tip of the ski stick.
A number of sprung ski stick handles are known from the prior art. Thus, German Pat. No. 605168 describes a sprung ski stick handle in whose interior is provided a helical spring which rests, on the one hand, on the ski stick handle, and, on the other hand, on the ski stick body. The ski stick handle surrounds the upper end of the ski stick body and is resiliently movable in a telescopic manner along this upper end toward the tip of the ski stick against the spring force. A similar sprung ski stick handle also guided on the ski stick body and movable against the force of a coil spring in the direction toward the tip of the ski stick is also known from German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2107075. However, these two sprung ski stick handles have the disadvantage, in particular, that the ski stick is shortened during use of the stick and that, moreover, an additional force is needed to guide the ski stick since telescopic movement of the ski stick handle on the ski stick body or tube inevitably necessitates a certain clearance therebetween and therefore a tendency for these two parts to loosen relative to each other, which has to be compensated for in the telescopic displacement. Furthermore, German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2518425 describes a sprung ski stick handle which is made completely of an elastomeric material and is fixed by its upper end to the upper end of the ski stick tube, but whose body can stretch elastically in the longitudinal direction. However, such stretching does not necessarily mean a deformation of the ski stick handle while the handle being longer and thinner is unpleasant and irritating for the user.
Finally, a sprung ski stick handle of the type mentioned at the outset is known from German Auslegeschrift No. 1157982. This ski stick handle has a cavity in which is arranged a cylindrical helical compression spring which, with its lower end resting on the shaft of the ski stick, imparts to the handle or a sleeve of the handle a springiness acting in the longitudinal direction of the ski stick. The compression spring inserted in the cavity of the sleeve which is composed of elastic material, for example, rubber, is guided slidably on the ski stick shaft which runs through the inside of it. This ski stick handle also has the disadvantage already mentioned in conjunction with German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2518425 that it is deformed in an unpleasant way during use and that its lift is limited.